Web Server for Embedded SystemsAfter the “everybody-in-the-Internet-wave” now obviously follows the“everything-in-the-Internet-wave”.The most coffee, vending and washingmachines are still not available about the worldwide net. However the embeddedInternet integration for remote maintenance and diagnostic as well as the so-calledM2M communication is growing with a considerable speed rate.Just the remote maintenance and diagnostic of components and systems by Webbrowsers via the Internet, or a local Intranet has a very high weight for manydevelopment projects. In numerous development departments people work oncompletely Web based configurations and services for embedded systems. Theremaining days of the classic user interface made by a small LC-display with frontpanel and a few function keys are over. Through future evolutions in the field ofthe mobile Internet, Bluetooth-based PAN s (Personal Area Network's) andthe rapidly growing M2M communication (M2M=Machine-to-Machine)a further innovating advance is to be expected.The central function unit to get access on an embedded system via Web browser isthe Web server. Such Web servers bring the desired HTML pages (HTML=HyperText Markup Language) and pictures over the worldwide Internetor a local network to the Web browser. This happens HTTP-based (HyperText Transfer Protocol). A TCP/IP protocol stack –that means it is based onsophisticated and established standards–manages the entire communication.Web server (HTTP server) and browser (HTTP client) build TCP/IP-applications. HTTP achieved a phenomenal distribution in the last years.Meanwhile millions of user around the world surf HTTP-based in the WorldWide Web. Today almost every personal computer offers the necessaryassistance for this protocol. This status is valid more and more for embeddedsystems also. The HTTP spreads up with a fast rate too.1. TCP/IP-based HTTP as Communication PlatformHTTP is a simple protocol that is based on a TCP/IP protocol stack (picture 1.A).HTTP uses TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). TCP is a relative complex andhigh-quality protocol to transfer data by the subordinate IP protocol. TCP itselfalways guarantees a safeguarded connection between two communication partnersbased on an extensive three-way-handshake procedure. As aresult the data transfer via HTTP is always protected. Due tothe extensive TCP protocol mechanisms HTTP offers only a low-gradeperformance.Figure 1: TCP/IP stack and HTTP programming modelHTTP is based on a simple client/server-concept. HTTP server and clientcommunicate via a TCP connection. As default TCP port value the port number80 will be used. The server works completely passive. He waits for a request(order) of a client. This request normally refers to the transmition of specificHTML documents. This HTML documents possibly have to be generateddynamically by CGI. As result of the requests, the server will answer with aresponse that usually contains the desired HTML documents among others(picture 1.B).GET /test.htm HTTP/1.1Accept]: image/gif, image/jpeg, */*User selling agent: Mozilla/4.0Host: 192.168.0.1Listing 1.A: HTTP GET-requestHTTP/1.1 200 OKDate: Mon, 06 Dec 1999 20:55:12 GMTServer: Apache/1.3.6 (Linux)Content-length: 82Content-type: text/html<html><head><title>Test-Seite</title></head><body>Test-SeiteThe DIL/NetPCs DNP/1110 – Using the Embedded Linux</body></html>Listing 1.B: HTTP response as result of the GET-request from listing 1.AHTTP requests normally consist of several text lines, which are transmitted to theserver by TCP. The listing 1.A shows an example. The first line characterizes therequest type (GET), the requested object (/test1.htm) and the used HTTP version(HTTP/1.1). In the second request line the client tells the server, which kind offiles it is able to evaluate. The third line includes information about theclient- software. The fourth and last line of the request from listing 1.A is used toinform the server about the IP address of the client. In according to the type ofrequest and the used client software there could follow some further lines. Asan end of the request a blank line is expected.The HTTP responses as request answer mostly consist of two parts. At first thereis a header of individual lines of text. Then follows a content object (optional).This content object maybe consists of some text lines –in case of a HTML file– ora binary file when a GIF or JPEG image should be transferred. The first line of theheader is especially important. It works as status or error message. If anerror occurs, only the header or a part of it will be transmitted as answer.2. Functional principle of a Web ServerSimplified a Web server can be imagined like a special kind of a file server.Picture 2.A shows an overview. The Web server receives a HTTP GET-requestfrom the Web browser. By this request, a specific file is required as answer (seestep 1 into picture 2.A). After that, the Web server tries to get access on the filesystem of the requested computer. Then it attempts to find the desired file (step 2).After the successful search the Web server read the entire file(step 3) and transmit it as an answer (HTTP response comprising of headerand content object) to the Web browser (step 4). If the Web server cannot findthe appropriate file in the file system, an error message (HTTP response whichonly contains the header) is simply be send as response to the client.Figure 2: Functional principle from Web server and browserThe web content is build by individual files. The base is build by static files withHTML pages. Within such HTML files there are references to further filesembedded –these files are typically pictures in GIF or JPEG format. However,also references to other objects, for example Java-Applets, are possible. After aWeb browser has received a HTML file of a Web server, this file will beevaluated and then searched for external references. Now the steps 1 to 4 frompicture 2.A will run again for every external reference in order to request therespective file from the corresponding Web server. Please note, that such areference consists of the name or IP address of a Web server (e.g. ""),as well as the name of the desired file (e.g. "picture1.gif"). So virtually everyreference can refer to another Web server. In other words, a HTML file could belocated on the server "ssv-embedded.de" but the required picture -which isexternal referenced by this HTML file- is located on the Web server"". Finally this (worldwide) networking of separate objects is thecause for the name World Wide Web (WWW). All files, which are required by aWeb server, are requested from a browser like the procedure shown on picture2.A. Normally these files are stored in the file system of the server. TheWebmaster has to update these files from time to time.A further elementary functionality of a Web server is the CommonGateway Interface(CGI) -we have mentioned before. Originally this technologyis made only for simple forms, which are embedded into HTML pages. The data,resulting from the padding of a form, will be transmitted to a Web server viaHTTP-GET or POST-request (see step 1 into picture 2.B). In such a GET- orPOST-request the name of the CGI program, which is needed for theevaluation of a form, is fundamentally included. This program has to be on theWeb server. Normally the directory "/cgi-bin" is used as storage location.As result of the GET- or POST-request the Web server starts the CGI programlocated in the subdirectory "/cgi-bin" and delivers the received data in form ofparameters (step 2). The outputs of a CGI program are guided to the Web server(step 3). Then the Web server sends them all as responses to the Web browser(step 4).3. Dynamic generated HTML PagesIn contradiction to a company Web site server, which informs people about theproduct program and services by static pages and pictures, an embeddedWeb server has to supply dynamically generated contents. The embedded Webserver will generate the dynamic pages in the moment of the first access by abrowser. How else could we check the actual temperature of a system viaInternet? Static HTML files are not interesting for an embedded Web server.The most information about the firmware version and service instructions arestored in HTML format. All other tasks are normally made via dynamic generatedHTML.There are two different technologies to generate a specific HTML page in themoment of the request: First the so-called server-side-scripting and secondthe CGI programming. At the server-side-scripting, script code is embeddedinto a HTML page. If required, this code will be carried out on the server (server-sided).For this, there are numerous script languages available. All these languages areusable inside a HTML-page. In the Linux community PHP is used mostly. Thefavourite of Microsoft is VBScript. It is also possible to insert Java directly intoHTML pages. Sun has named this technology JSP(Java Server Pages).The HTML page with the script code is statically stored in the file system of theWeb server. Before this server file is delivered to the client, a special programreplaces the entire script code with dynamic generated standard HTML. The Webbrowser will not see anything from the script language.Figure 3: Single steps of the Server-Side-ScriptingPicture 3 shows the single steps of the server-side-scripting. In step 1 the Webbrowser requests a specific HTML file via HTTP GET-request. The Web serverrecognizes the specific extension of the desired file (for example *.ASP or *.PHPinstead of *.HTM and/or *.HTML) and starts a so-called scripting engine(see step 2). This program gets the desired HTML file including the script codefrom the file system (step 3), carry out the script code and make a newHTML file without script code (step 4). The included script code will be replacedby dynamic generated HTML. This new HTML file will be read by the Webserver (step 5) and send to the Web browser (step 6). If a server-sided scripting issupposed to be used by an embedded Web server, so you haveto consider the necessary additional resources. A simple example: In orderto carry out the embedded PHP code into a HTML page, additional programmodules are necessary for the server. A scripting engine together with theembedded Web server has to be stored in the Flash memory chip of an embeddedsystem. Through that, during run time more main memory is required.4. Web Server running under LinuxOnce spoken about Web servers in connection with Linux most peopleimmediately think of Apache. After investigations of the Netcraft Surveythis program is the mostly used Web server worldwide. Apache is anenhancement of the legendary NCSA server. The name Apache itself hasnothing to do with Red Indians. It is a construct from "A Patchy Server" becausethe first version was put together from different code and patch files.Moreover there are numerous other Web servers - even for Linux. Most of this arestanding under the GPL (like Apache) and can be used license free. Avery extensive overview you can find at "/". EveryWeb server has his advantages and disadvantages. Some are developed forspecific functions and have very special qualities. Other distinguishes at bestthrough their reaction rate at many simultaneous requests, as wellas the variety of theirconfiguration settings. Others are designed to need minimal resources and offer very small setting possibilities, as well as only one connection to a client.The most important thing by an embedded Web server is the actual resource requirements. Sometimes embedded systems offer only minimal resources, which mostly has to be shared with Linux. Meanwhile there are numerous high- performance 32-bit-386/486-microcontroller or (Strong)ARM-based embedded systems that own just 8 Mbytes RAM and 2 Mbytes Flash-ROM (picture 4). Outgoing from this ROM (Read-only-Memory, i.e. Flash memory chips) a complete Linux, based on a 2.2- or 2.4-Kernel with TCP/IP protocol stack and Web server, will be booted. HTML pages and programs are also stored in the ROM to generate the dynamic Web pages. The space requirements of an embedded system are similar to a little bigger stamp. There it is quite understandable that there is no place for a powerful Web server like Apache.Figure 4: Embedded Web Server Module with StrongARM and LinuxBut also the capability of an Apache is not needed to visualize the counter of a photocopier or the status of a percolator by Web servers and browsers. In most cases a single Web server is quite enough. Two of such representatives are boa () and thttpd (). At first, both Web servers are used in connection with embedded systems running under Linux. The configuration settings for boa and thttpd are poor, but quite enough. By the way, the source code is available to the customer. The practicable binary files for these servers are always smaller than 80 Kbytes and can be integrated in the most embedded systems without problems. For the dynamic generation of HTML pages both servers only offer CGI (Common Gateway Interface) as enlargement. Further technologies, like server-side-includes (SSI) are not available.The great difference between an embedded Web server and Apache is, next to the limited configuration settings, the maximal possible number of simultaneous requests. High performance servers like Apache immediately make an own process for every incoming call request of a client. Inside of this process allfurther steps will then be executed. This requires a very good programming and a lot of free memory resources during run time. But, on the other hand many Web browsers can access such a Web server simultaneously. Embedded Web server like boa and thttpd work only with one single process. If two users need to get access onto a embedded Web server simultaneously, one of both have to wait a few fractions of a second. But in the environment of the embedded systems that is absolutely justifiable. In this case it is first of all a question of remote maintenance, remote configuration and similar tasks. There are not many simultaneous requests expected.The DIL/NetPCs DNP/1110 – Using the Embedded LinuxList of FiguresFigure 1: TCP/IP stack and HTTP programming modelFigure 2: Functional principle from Web server and browserFigure 3: Single steps of the Server-Side-ScriptingFigure 4: Embedded Web Server Module with StrongARM and LinuxListingsListing 1.A: HTTP GET-requestListing 1.B: HTTP response as result of the GET-request from listing 1.A ContactSSV Embedded SystemsHeisterbergallee 72D-30453 HannoverTel. +49-(0)511-40000-0Fax. +49-(0)511-40000-40Email: sales@ist1.deWeb: www.ssv-embedded.deDocument History (Sadnp05.Doc)Revision Date Name1.00 24.05.2002FirstVersion KDWThis document is meant only for the internal application. The contents ofthis document can change any time without announcement. There is takenover no guarantee for the accuracy of the statements. Copyright ©SSV EMBEDDED SYSTEMS 2002. All rights reserved.INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED 'ASIS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. The user assumes the entirerisk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. Some names withinthis document can be trademarks of their respective holders.嵌入式系统的网络服务器在“每个人都处在互联网的浪潮中”之后，现在很明显随之而来的是“每件事都处在互联网的浪潮中”。